The invention generally relates to an apparatus for bending tubes into three-dimensional helices or coils, comprising means for intermittent clamping of the tube, which is intermittently displaceable in its longitudinal direction between successive clamping operations; a first substantially stationary shaping member having a groove, which extends in an arc of at least approximately 180.degree. and whose cross section substantially conforms to half of the cross section of the tube to be bent, the locus of the most deeply located points of the bottom of the groove defining a first substantially plane surface; a movable bending member having a rotatable shaping roller which has an endless, circumferential groove of substantially the same cross sectional shape as that of the stationary shaping member and whose rotational axis is movable substantially along a circular arc, which comprises at least approximately 180.degree. and whose center approximately coincides with the center of the first-mentioned arc, the locus of the most deeply located points of the bottom of the groove of the shaping roller defining a second substantially plane surface.
The principal object of the invention is to provide a tube bending apparatus of the above kind which substantially automatically and successively bends a numer of tubes into an equal number of preferably flattened, three-dimensional helices or coils.